John Wise (1721 - 1780)

Born 25 Jul 1721 in Arbuthnott, Kincardineshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Tait) Wise — married 1740 in Arbuthnott, Kincardineshire, Scotland

Descendants

Died 1780 at about age 58 in Charleston, South Carolina, USA

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Biography

John Wise was born 25 Jul 1721 in Arbuthnot Parish, Kincardine, Kincardineshire, Scotland and was the son of David Wise (b. circa 1700) and his wife (name unknown but possibly the name listed above), of Kincardine, Kincardineshire, Scotland. Of note, there were many by the name of John Wise that lived during this time. Stories of the different men may have been intertwined.

There is great debate as to the name of his wife with few factual or historic references (I.e. marriage records, wills). No marriage record has been found. Unsourced references also write that John married Margaret Tait (born 1722), in Maryculter Parish Church, Kincardinshire, Scotland, however there is not sourced evidence for this.

Unsourced family trees also have him married to Margaret Douglas and others. This John Wise could not be married to Margaret Douglas because she was born, lived and died in Virginia and not Georgia or South Carolina and married a different John Wise.

A search is in progress attempting to determine if information can be obtained to confirm what is written in family trees and identify this John Wise. A John Wise (South Carolina) is listed on this reference with no details about his life. ^[1] This reference lists a John Wise of South Carolina with documentation after 1780. ^[2] It is included with documents that list property on Horse Creek; Ninety Six District; Savannah River in this reference ^[3] With a search of John Wise (no middle name).

The 1780 date of death above is currently based on unsourced family trees.

Military Service

John and his sons William and Jacob served in the South Carolina Militia during the American Revolutionary War.

Note

There is a John Wise listed as a prisoner on the ship The Old Jersey, however there is no information listed about the prisoner. ^[4] This ship was docked in New York. ^[5]

Although the following story (bolded below) has been repeated many times, John Wise was NOT found listed on the list of prisoners on the ship Forbay, also called Torbay. ^{[6] [7] [8][9]} NOTE: THIS STORY IS NOT FACTUAL (see references) In 1780 John Sr. was arrested by the English Army at his plantation home on Horse Creek for providing aid and comfort to the local rebels (South Carolina Militia soldiers). He died that same year while imprisoned aboard the old English Prisoner-of-War ship "Forbay" in Charles Towne Harbor, South Carolina. His burial place is unknown, i.e., he may have been buried at sea, near Charleston Harbor.

The information on this John Wise might be combined with that of another John Wise that lived in the same area and time or of another John Wise. For the time being, he remains connected while more research is completed. A John Wise that served during the Revolutionary War from North Carolina was found listed as living in Georgia in 1823 but this is a different John Wise. ^[10] This reference lists another John Wise (Georgia) on page 247 that died 8 Aug 1846 that is not this John Wise. ^[11]

• There is a church record of parents, John Wise and Margaret Tait at the Christening of their second son William^[12] Moyer-780 18:06, 5 February 2022 (UTC), placing their family in Maryculter Scotland in 1744.

Sources

1. ↑ http://genealogytrails.com/scar/patriots.htm
2. ↑ http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/ArchivesImages/S108092/S108092016100429000/images/S108092016100429000.pdf
3. ↑ http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/
4. ↑ http://www.americanwars.org/american-prisoners-revolution.htm
5. ↑ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Jersey_(1736)
6. ↑ https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Torbay%2C_Ship_of_Prisoners_Revolutionary_War
7. ↑ http://revwarapps.org/b70.pdf
8. ↑ http://files.usgwarchives.net/sc/ships/forbay.txt
9. ↑ https://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.html/document/csr17-0353
10. ↑ https://revwarapps.org/s36395.pdf
11. ↑ https://www.fold3.com/pdf/M1746.pdf
12. ↑ "Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XBHJ-QDS : 16 September 2021), John Wise in entry for William Wise, 1744.

• http://sites.rootsweb.com/~lcowen/ROBERTSON/john_wise.htm
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoners_of_war_in_the_American_Revolutionary_War
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_ship
• https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/american-revolution/prisoners-1776-1783.pdf
• https://www.varsitytutors.com/earlyamerica/early-america-review/volume-6/pows-during-the-american-revolution
• https://members.sar.org/media/uploads/pages/309/KnMIuL2utjkC.docx
• https://www.iroquoiscsd.org/cms/lib/NY19000365/Centricity/Domain/198/pow%20am%20rev.pdf
• http://historicalfictionalightintime.blogspot.com/2012/06/patriot-prisoners-and-prison-ships.html
• https://revwarapps.org/#
• https://books.google.com/books?id=AMMWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=prison+ship+Torbay+or+Torbay&source=bl&ots=_x8DDf6Qcu&sig=ACfU3U0_5vciP_x69DalsfUmYjo2DuyNEA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjM2e_785jjAhUBXKwKHWNLDQE4ChDoATACegQIBRAB#v=onepage&q=prison%20ship%20Torbay%20or%20Torbay&f=false (Page 34)
• https://www.fold3.com/page/641411721-samuel-lockhart/stories
• https://books.google.com/books?id=iY71nSHUprYC&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&dq=prison+ship+Torbay+or+Torbay&source=bl&ots=M8Mend9_tS&sig=ACfU3U1wYUtl-QYbqwRilQJAWsuwbi8XBQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjM2e_785jjAhUBXKwKHWNLDQE4ChDoATARegQIBxAB#v=onepage&q=prison%20ship%20Torbay%20or%20Torbay&f=false. (Page 85)
• https://archive.org/stream/cu31924093960825/cu31924093960825_djvu.txt
• https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/the-hms-jersey#section_4
• http://www.usmm.org/revdead.html#anchor288289
• https://www.statesboroherald.com/life/lifestyles-columnists/bulloch-genealogy-with-roger-allen/

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Jonathon Dale Walter Myers for creating WikiTree profile Wise-1372 through the import of EVEY2.ged on Oct 4, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Jonathon Dale Walter and others.